Rockingham, N.C. — Video of chickens being kicked, thrown and stomped led to the arrest Tuesday of an employee at a Rockingham chicken farm and a call from animal rights group Mercy for Animals for changes at the farm, which supplies birds sold under the Perdue label.

Mercy for Animals released the video Thursday, and organization president Nathan Runkle said, "Extreme cruelty to animals is business as usual at Perdue."

Danny Cajija Miranda, 22, was charged with four counts of animal cruelty and was held under a $10,000 bond at the Richmond County jail.

Miranda works at Deese Farm and Hideaway Farms, both contractors for Perdue.

Runkle used the arrest to pressure Perdue to "end many of the worst forms of animal abuse and neglect in its supply chain."

Mercy for Animals said the most recent video shows "birds kicked like footballs, thrown against walls and violently stomped to death by callous workers." Other chickens in the video are ill, deformed and unable to move or eat. Some can't even stand up because they've been bred to have oversized breasts.

Matt Rice, chief investigator for the group, called the abuse horrific but said it's not unusual to find such conditions on factory farms. He called on Perdue to change the way its animals are cared for.

"As one of the largest poultry producers in the United States, Perdue has not only the power but also the responsibility to end the needless suffering of millions of animals in its supply chain," Rice said.

Perdue spokeswoman Julie DeYoung thanked the animal-rights groups for "uncovering clear animal abuse" and said it shows the company needs to "improve our oversight, training and practices around day-to-day care of our animals."

"As a company, Perdue is committed to continuous improvement, and as with our journey toward being the leader in No Antibiotics Ever, we are actively seeking to improve the way we raise chickens," DeYoung said in a statement. "We recently created a new vice president-level position within company, Chief Animal Welfare Officer and Farm Family Advocate ... to improve animal care and to develop closer relationships with the farmers who care for those animals."

State lawmakers in June approved legislation over Gov. Pat McCrory's veto that will soon make undercover videos such as those taken by Mercy for Animals harder to obtain.

Dubbed an "ag-gag" measure by its critics, the law gives businesses the right to sue employees who expose trade secrets or take pictures of their workplaces.

"The clear intent of this ag-gag law is to stop undercover investigations from exposing animal abuse, environmental problems, worker safety problems and other issues happening in the state's agricultural facilities," Rice said.

The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, goes beyond agricultural facilities to include everything from nursing homes and day cares to restaurants and pharmacies – any whistleblower who takes video or pictures without an employer's consent, even if what they document is criminal activity.

Rice said a federal judge has ruled a similar ag-gag law in Idaho is unconstitutional, and he is hopeful North Carolina's law will likewise be struck down.

"We feel that Americans have a right to know where their food comes from and how animals in these factory farms are treated so that they can make informed choices," he said.

Rosco ColtraneDec 11, 2015

So you welcome "pests" into your home? You share the wealth with them? I highly doubt that. You just wanted to come up with some cool response. It didn't work. Try again.

Chase TrumanDec 11, 2015

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We can only hope that people start caring as much about human life and the harvesting and selling of baby parts as they do about chickens. Although bad, it has already gotten more attention and arrest that the plan parenthood video. Come on people, again pick a side and stand by it. This back and forth drives everyone nuts.

— Posted by Tim Britton

One has nothing to do with the other.

Chase TrumanDec 11, 2015

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And you same people complaining about these chickens, will top an ant hill with seven dust, stomp on a roach, take a swatter to a fly, lay out mouse traps and have some guy come by every month to kill any other "living animal" that you label a pest. Don't those animals deserve to be treated fairly?

— Posted by Rosco Coltrane

So, you know us all personally? Nope, try again.

James JohnsonDec 11, 2015

That's how they kill 'em in Mexico.

Sam NadaDec 10, 2015

View quoted thread

We can only hope that people start caring as much about human life and the harvesting and selling of baby parts as they do about chickens. Although bad, it has already gotten more attention and arrest that the plan parenthood video. Come on people, again pick a side and stand by it. This back and forth drives everyone nuts.

— Posted by Tim Britton

Totally unrelated to this topic. The PP video has been proven to be a fraud. In addition the issue here is the legislature passing a law making it a crime to record videos showing animal abuse solely to hide illegal activity by corporations. Your post makes no sense in this context.

Jacob SmithDec 10, 2015

View quoted thread

We can only hope that people start caring as much about human life and the harvesting and selling of baby parts as they do about chickens. Although bad, it has already gotten more attention and arrest that the plan parenthood video. Come on people, again pick a side and stand by it. This back and forth drives everyone nuts.

— Posted by Tim Britton

^ +1!

Tim BrittonDec 10, 2015

We can only hope that people start caring as much about human life and the harvesting and selling of baby parts as they do about chickens. Although bad, it has already gotten more attention and arrest that the plan parenthood video. Come on people, again pick a side and stand by it. This back and forth drives everyone nuts.

Sam NadaDec 10, 2015

We can only hope the new law criminalizing the making of such videos is overturned by the Supreme Court, as a similar law was in another state. If not, we need to vote these corrupt cowards out of the legislature. Unconscionable.

Susan WestDec 10, 2015

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Many of our grandmothers and great grandmothers would, under this law, be criminals. They would wring chicken's neck, pluck their feathers and cook them for their family. If you remember how they used to wring their necks, it ain't pretty!! This man, in his country, probably has always done it this way and is scratching his head to figure out why he has criminal charges against him.

— Posted by Wanda Paylor

Yes, that's how they did it. It was an immediate death. Unlike what this man did which was torture and maim them. My grandmother grew up on a farm and helped kill the chickens and rabbits. She would have never have done what this man did and if she did, her dad would have made her remember to never do it again.

King MoparDec 10, 2015

BTW...back in the day...Blacks, Whites, or any other color under the rainbow who did not get thru high school, many much less via school..had very little options. Farm work, construction work-- or joining Uncle Sam's military. You picked/plowed fields, laid steel or construction, or was with Uncle Sugar. You didn't sit at home, just to get a check....you HAD to do something. Granted, some folks need help, but those that think this system is not abused, you are kidding yourself.